More to read on Gaza

More to read on Gaza:

While the Times, the Post, and the New Yorker seem at least partly paralyzed by the same old narratives, here are a few more ways to broaden your horizons:

At Salon.com, Gary Kamiya offers a superb analysis of the mental gridlock that afflicts many Americans when it comes to the “special relationship” with Israel.

In today’s Financial Times, Gideon Rachman presents good reasons why Israel’s offensive will not succeed in any larger strategic sense.

Over at The Atlantic‘s Web site, Andrew Sullivan and his interlocutors are conducting a valuable seminar on just war theory. See here, here, and here.

And at The New Republic, Israeli-American historian Michael Oren weighs in with an unconsciously revealing account of his return to arms, as part of an IDF public relations unit. In addition to a set of presumably official “talking points,” there’s this money quote:

Irrespective of Israel’s goals, my unit’s job will be to afford the IDF the requisite time to achieve them by fostering a sympathetic press and, through it, an amenable diplomatic environment. The IDF has learned many lessons from its bitter Lebanon experience and the need for effective PR is one of them. I believe we can make a difference.”

In short, even Oren understands that one key here is how the conflict gets spun, and he understands that Israel has an uphill fight to convince the world that this is justifiable. The consensus is gradually shifting, and that scares them (as it should).

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